Arson attack in Rosbach: five concrete mixers destroyed – left-wing extremists suspected
Five concrete mixers belonging to a concrete company were set on fire in Rosbach, Hesse. The damage is estimated at up to 800,000 euros.
Suspected left-wing extremist arson attack on concrete company in Hesse
Five concrete mixers were completely destroyed by fire overnight into Wednesday at the premises of Heidelberg Materials Beton in Rosbach vor der Höhe, north of Frankfurt. According to BILD, two unknown suspects placed a makeshift incendiary device between parked lorries, which ignited after a time delay.
Witnesses alerted police at around 1.10 a.m. When emergency services arrived, the vehicles were already ablaze. A total of seven vehicles were damaged: five of the six concrete mixers were completely destroyed, and another concrete mixer and a wheeled loader were also damaged. Police estimate the material damage at between 600,000 and 800,000 euros. No one was injured.
Admission of responsibility published on left-wing extremist platform
Video footage from the company premises provides investigators with an initial lead to the two perpetrators, who remain unknown. At the same time, an alleged statement of responsibility from a left-wing extremist group appeared on the internet platform de.indymedia.org, which BILD has seen. The authors describe themselves as Communists; the document indicates Israel hatred as the motive.
A police spokesman confirmed to BILD: "We are aware of the statement. That is part of our investigation." Whether the document actually comes from the perpetrators remains unclear. "We are still investigating all lines of inquiry. We also need to verify whether the admission of responsibility is genuine," the spokesman said.
Interior minister speaks of concerning development
Hesse's Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) strongly condemned the attack. He called it "a serious assault on a medium-sized enterprise and on internal peace in our country". Should the suspicion of an extremist background be confirmed, the act would fit into a disturbing trend: the number of left-wing extremist violent acts in Hesse had nearly tripled within a year, rising from 15 to 44 cases.
Poseck also pointed to attacks against businesses and critical infrastructure in Germany. "Anyone who believes they can conduct the Middle East conflict using incendiary devices on Hessian company premises will face the full force of the rule of law," the minister said. Hesse has recently strengthened the fight against left-wing extremism in police and intelligence services and will act decisively against Israel hatred and antisemitism.
Series of attacks in several federal states
The incident in Rosbach is part of a series of similar acts in recent days. In Munich, three incendiary devices were thrown at the headquarters of technology and defence company Rohde & Schwarz overnight into Thursday. Two suspects were arrested; however, according to police, the attack was directed at a different company in the same building complex, which also houses other companies linked to the defence industry.
In Brandenburg, unknown individuals attempted to disrupt the power supply near Jänschwalde power station. An intentional short circuit was also caused at Bergheim transformer station near Cologne. Investigators see striking parallels between the two attacks on the energy supply.
Source: BILD